Dear France, Please Don't Do What The US Did After 9/11

I think I speak for basically anyone with a heart when I say how deeply sorry I am for Friday's tragic events.

The world watched on in horror as a group of vicious cowards maliciously targeted innocent civilians in your beautiful capital. It was a truly horrendous day we will never forget. We stand with you during this trying time.

I understand you must be hurting right now. You're saddened, baffled and enraged anyone could be so fundamentally cruel and violent.

It's been over a decade since 9/11, but for those of us in the US old enough to remember that day, those feelings are all too familiar.

But please, for the sake of your country and that of the wider world, don't do what the US did after 9/11.

Don't allow your anger and desire for retribution to fuel intolerance and misguided policies that violate everything you stand for.

Don't allow your pain and hurt to induce hatred against Muslims. In the US, hate crimes against Muslims are still five times more common today than before 9/11.

Don't collectively blame the Middle East for the crimes committed against your people. Don't use this attack to justify the invasions of entire countries.

The US, like Paris, was attacked by a non-state actor on 9/11, but ended up illegally invading a country (Iraq) with no ties to the 9/11 attacks.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi Arabian, but America invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the process, we helped create the group that claimed responsibility for the horrendous attack in Paris on Friday.

ISIS would not exist had the US not invaded Iraq in 2003.

worth remembering how much of ISIS' strength in Iraq comes from Saddam loyalists. rise very much linked to Iraq war as @BernieSanders says
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) November 15, 2015

They aren't terrorists, but the sad product of terrorism. Refugees are people desperately searching for peace and stability after being ravaged by war and left with no good choices.

Remember when we all saw those photos of a dead Syrian child and people wanted to help refugees? That was two months ago.
— Elise Foley (@elisefoley) November 16, 2015

ISIS wants you to be afraid of refugees because it would provide the group with a valuable crop of recruits, among other reasons.

When people have few options and the world appears to hate them, that's when they turn to extremism. Don't give ISIS this advantage.

one reason to bring a Syrian passport with you to commit a terror attack—to demonize refugees locally, which is exactly what ISIS wants.
— Mike Giglio (@mike_giglio) November 14, 2015

Beyond the basic humanity, think of the recruitment tool handed to ISIS if the door was uniquely shut on millions of Muslim refugees.
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) November 16, 2015

#ISIS wants to disrupt refugee fleeing to Europe bc it contradicts their narrative that the Islamic Caliphate is a safe refuge for Syrians.
— Ahmed Shihab-Eldin (@ASE) November 16, 2015

Don't fear Muslims. ISIS doesn't represent the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, but it certainly wants you to believe it does.

These terrorists want us to legitimize their existence by equating them with Islam. But they do not speak for the vast majority of Muslims around the world, who are non-violent, peace-loving individuals.

Most of those killed by ISIS and most of those fighting ISIS are Muslims. Remember that when you collectively blame Muslims for ISIS' terror
— Daniel Wickham (@DanielWickham93) November 14, 2015

The US made the mistake of allowing emotion to dictate its foreign policy after 9/11, and thousands of innocent people paid the price.

We are still fighting the "War on Terror," and we are still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now we are fighting in Syria and parts of Africa.

America played right into the terrorists' hands: al-Qaeda wanted the US to get bogged down in a long and costly war.

Very important point from @will_mccants' interview w- @voxdotcom on what the Paris attacks mean for ISIS strategy. pic.twitter.com/mPIPMPbjNB
— Shadi Hamid (@shadihamid) November 14, 2015

Don't give the terrorists want they want. Show the world how to respond to awful events like this by moving forward in defiance of ISIS' wishes: with no fear and in solidarity with the globe and its diverse peoples.